Working Town
If people knew you were out there making pictures, you’d probably get in worse trouble, a proper way of going wrong. Odessa is a working town, and everyone needs a good way of going wrong.
A 300mm lens on an APS-C camera is a touch of madness — yet West Texas is so vast that you’ll need a longer lens to line it all up.
When a photographer is obviously strange-looking and increasingly suspicious, they’ve entered a picture-making mode, where new work is in progress.
I woke up, laced up my boots, and knew nobody would gentrify this place anytime soon. So many old buildings and signs have gone, including forgotten gas stations and bus depots, too.
We’ll see someone taking pictures and say, “Hey, they’re taking photos,” and we’ll even ask if they’ve taken anything new, but what if they’re making something, and we’ve been asking the wrong question?
Every time I press the shutter, I quietly let a piece of myself slip away, my subtle way of negotiating with the universe and feeling okay about things.
Pictured: Odessa Meteor Crater
